vault-plugin-secrets-openai

Vault OpenAI Secrets Plugin

A HashiCorp Vault plugin for dynamic, secure management of OpenAI service accounts and API keys using the OpenAI Admin API. This plugin creates, rotates, and revokes OpenAI project service accounts and API keys on demand with full automation.

I developed and tested this plugin with Vault 1.19.4.

[!IMPORTANT] Use at your own risk. Test thoroughly before deploying to production. HashiCorp does not officially support this plugin.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start
• API Reference
• Installation
• Metrics and Monitoring
• Development
• Usage with Docker
• Usage without Docker
• Vagrant Development Environment
• License

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Features

• Dynamic Service Accounts: Create OpenAI service accounts with API keys. Configure TTLs for improved security.
• Automatic Cleanup: Remove service accounts and API keys automatically when leases expire.
• Admin API Key Rotation: Rotate OpenAI admin keys manually or on a schedule.
• Metrics and Monitoring: Prometheus-compatible metrics for credential issuance, revocation, and API errors.
• Containerized Deployment: Run as a containerized Vault plugin with Docker on Linux.

Note: Only dynamic service account credentials are supported.

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Quick Start

1. Download the plugin

Download the pre-built plugin binary from the latest release page.

2. Extract the plugin

# Replace VERSION with the latest release version
mkdir -p ./bin
curl -L -o ./bin/vault-plugin-secrets-openai https://github.com/gitrgoliveira/vault-plugin-secrets-openai/releases/download/VERSION/vault-plugin-secrets-openai
chmod +x ./bin/vault-plugin-secrets-openai

3. Start a dev Vault server and register the plugin

vault server -dev -dev-plugin-dir=./bin
# In another terminal
export VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:8200
export VAULT_TOKEN=root
vault plugin register -sha256=$(shasum -a 256 ./bin/vault-plugin-secrets-openai | cut -d' ' -f1) \
  secret vault-plugin-secrets-openai
vault secrets enable -path=openai vault-plugin-secrets-openai

4. Configure the plugin

vault write openai/config \
  admin_api_key="sk-admin-..." \
  admin_api_key_id="admin-key-id-..." \
  organization_id="org-123456"

5. Create a role

vault write openai/roles/my-role \
  project_id="proj_my-project" \
  service_account_name_template="vault-{{.RoleName}}-{{.RandomSuffix}}" \
  ttl=1h \
  max_ttl=24h

6. Generate an API key

vault read openai/creds/my-role

Sample response:

Key                Value
---                -----
lease_id           openai/creds/app-role/abcdef12345
lease_duration     30m
lease_renewable    false
api_key            sk-...
api_key_id         api_key_abc123
service_account    vault-app-role-12345
service_account_id svc_abc123

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API Reference

Configuration API

Configure the plugin

POST /openai/config
PUT /openai/config

Configure the OpenAI secrets engine with admin API credentials.

Parameters:

• admin_api_key (string, required) - Admin API key for OpenAI
• admin_api_key_id (string, required) - Admin API key ID for OpenAI
• organization_id (string, required) - Organization ID for OpenAI
• api_endpoint (string, optional) - URL for the OpenAI API (default: https://api.openai.com/v1)
• rotation_period (duration, optional) - Period between automatic admin API key rotations
• rotation_window (duration, optional) - Window during which rotation can occur
• disable_automated_rotation (bool, optional) - Disable automated rotation of admin credentials

Example:

vault write openai/config \
  admin_api_key="sk-admin-..." \
  admin_api_key_id="admin-key-id-..." \
  organization_id="org-123456" \
  rotation_period=604800

Read configuration

GET /openai/config

Read the current configuration. Sensitive fields are not returned.

Response Fields:

• api_endpoint - The configured API endpoint
• organization_id - The organization ID
• admin_api_key_id - The admin API key ID
• rotation_period - Automatic rotation period (if enabled)
• rotation_window - Rotation window (if enabled)
• last_rotated - Last rotation timestamp (if automated rotation is enabled)

Delete configuration

DELETE /openai/config

Delete the configuration.

Rotate admin API key

POST /openai/config/rotate

Manually rotate the admin API key. This creates a new admin API key and revokes the old one.

Roles API

Create or update role

POST /openai/roles/{name}
PUT /openai/roles/{name}

Create or update a role definition for generating dynamic credentials.

Parameters:

• name (string, required) - Name of the role
• project_id (string, required) - OpenAI Project ID (e.g., proj_abc123)
• service_account_name_template (string, optional) - Template for service account names (default: vault-{{.RoleName}}-{{.RandomSuffix}})
• service_account_description (string, optional) - Description for service accounts (default: Service account created by Vault)
• ttl (duration, optional) - Default TTL for API keys (default: 1h)
• max_ttl (duration, optional) - Maximum TTL for API keys (default: 24h)

Example:

vault write openai/roles/analytics \
  project_id="proj_abc123" \
  service_account_name_template="analytics-{{.RoleName}}-{{.RandomSuffix}}" \
  ttl=2h \
  max_ttl=24h

Read role

GET /openai/roles/{name}

Read the configuration for a specific role.

List roles

GET /openai/roles

List all configured roles.

Delete role

DELETE /openai/roles/{name}

Delete a role definition.

Dynamic Credentials API

Generate credentials

GET /openai/creds/{role_name}

Generate new dynamic OpenAI credentials using the specified role.

Parameters:

• role_name (string, required) - Name of the role to use
• ttl (duration, optional) - Custom TTL for this credential (must not exceed role's max_ttl)

Example:

vault read openai/creds/analytics ttl=1h

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Installation

Build the plugin

git clone https://github.com/gitrgoliveira/vault-plugin-secrets-openai.git
cd vault-plugin-secrets-openai
make build

Install in Vault

1. Copy the plugin binary to your Vault plugins directory:

   cp ./bin/vault-plugin-secrets-openai /path/to/vault/plugins/
   

2. Calculate the SHA256 sum of the plugin:

   SHA256=$(shasum -a 256 /path/to/vault/plugins/vault-plugin-secrets-openai | cut -d' ' -f1)
   

3. Register the plugin with Vault:

   vault plugin register -sha256=$SHA256 secret vault-plugin-secrets-openai
   

4. Enable the OpenAI secrets engine:

   vault secrets enable -path=openai -plugin-name=vault-plugin-secrets-openai plugin
   

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Metrics and monitoring

This plugin emits Prometheus-compatible metrics through Vault's telemetry system. You can scrape these metrics with Prometheus or view them using Vault's telemetry endpoints.

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Development

• Go 1.25.7+
• Vault 1.19+ for containerized plugin support
• Vagrant (for containerized plugin usage)

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Usage with Docker

Note: You can only build and run Vault plugins with Docker on Linux hosts. If you use macOS or Windows, build the plugin binary on a Linux machine or use a Linux VM or container for plugin development and testing. Refer to the Vault documentation for details.

Run the Vault OpenAI Secrets Plugin in a containerized environment using Docker. I recommend this approach for most users.

1. Build the plugin binary

make build-release

2. Build the Docker image

This repository includes a sample Dockerfile. Build the image:

make release VERSION=0.0.3

3. Run Vault in dev mode if not already running

export VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:8200
export VAULT_TOKEN=root
export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock # Adjust if using a different Docker socket
nohup env DOCKER_HOST=$DOCKER_HOST vault server -dev -dev-root-token-id=root > vault.log 2>&1 &

4. Register and enable the plugin

# Get the Docker image SHA256
PLUGIN_SHA256=$(docker images --no-trunc --format="{{ .ID }}" vault-plugin-secrets-openai:0.0.3 | cut -d: -f2)

# Register the plugin runtime (if using containerized plugins)
vault plugin runtime register -type=container -rootless=true -oci_runtime=runsc runsc

# Register the plugin with Vault (replace 0.0.3 with your version)
vault plugin register \
  -sha256="$PLUGIN_SHA256" \
  -oci_image="vault-plugin-secrets-openai" \
  -runtime="runsc" \
  -version="0.0.3" \
  secret vault-plugin-secrets-openai

# Enable the secrets engine
vault secrets enable -path=openai vault-plugin-secrets-openai

5. Configure the plugin

# Configure with your OpenAI admin API key
vault write openai/config admin_api_key="$OPENAI_ADMIN_API_KEY" \
admin_api_key_id="$ADMIN_API_KEY_ID" \
organization_id="$OPENAI_ORG_ID" \
rotation_period="720h"

vault read openai/config
Key                           Value
---                           -----
admin_api_key_id              key_OInm3Qed3kNn4BUQ
api_endpoint                  https://api.openai.com/v1
disable_automated_rotation    false
last_rotated                  2025-07-02T15:30:45+00:00
organization_id               org-gAZ0NbaPX8FD2YcdLsHiKx8v
rotation_period               720h
rotation_schedule             n/a
rotation_window               0 

Vault uses the admin API key to create and manage service accounts in your OpenAI organization. The rotation period determines how often Vault automatically rotates this root credential. Refer to the API documentation for all supported parameters.

To force rotation, run vault write -force openai/config/rotate.

6. Create roles

Roles define the permissions and TTL for credentials that you generate for specific applications:

# Create a role for your application
vault write openai/roles/my-application project_id="$OPENAI_TEST_PROJECT_ID" \
service_account_name_template="vault-{{.RoleName}}-{{.RandomSuffix}}" \
      ttl=”1h” max_ttl=”24h”

### 7. Generate an API key
```shell
vault read openai/creds/my-application

Sample response:

Key                Value
---                -----
lease_id           openai/creds/my-application/abcdef12345
lease_duration     1h
lease_renewable    true
api_key            sk-...
api_key_id         api_key_abc123
service_account    vault-my-application-12345
service_account_id svc_abc123

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Usage without Docker

You can run the plugin directly on your host system (Linux or macOS) without Docker.

1. Build the plugin binary

make build

2. Start a dev Vault server and register the plugin

vault server -dev -dev-plugin-dir=./bin
# In another terminal
export VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:8200
vault plugin register -sha256=$(shasum -a 256 ./bin/vault-plugin-secrets-openai | cut -d' ' -f1) \
  secret vault-plugin-secrets-openai
vault secrets enable -path=openai -plugin-name=vault-plugin-secrets-openai plugin

3. Configure the plugin

vault write openai/config \
  admin_api_key="sk-admin-..." \
  admin_api_key_id="admin-key-id-..." \
  organization_id="org-123456"

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Vagrant development environment (recommended for Linux container plugin testing)

This project includes a Vagrant-based development environment for building, testing, and running the Vault OpenAI Secrets Plugin with support for rootless Docker and gVisor/runsc.

Features

• Automated provisioning of Go, Docker (rootless), and gVisor/runsc for containerized plugin testing
• Rootless Docker setup for the vagrant user with correct socket and runtime configuration
• gVisor/runsc installed from the official APT repository with fallback to runc if runsc is not compatible with rootless mode
• Automated plugin build, Docker image creation, and Vault plugin registration inside the VM
• Integration and unit test scripts for plugin validation

Prerequisites

• Vagrant
• VirtualBox

Quick start (Vagrant)

1. Start the Vagrant VM and provision

   vagrant up
   

   This will:

   • Install Go, Docker (rootless), and gVisor/runsc
   • Set up Docker for the vagrant user in rootless mode
   • Build the plugin and Docker image
   • Start Vault in dev mode and register the plugin

2. SSH into the VM

   vagrant ssh
   cd vault-plugin-secrets-openai
   

3. Run tests

   • Unit tests

     ./scripts/run_tests.sh
     

   • Integration tests

     ./scripts/run_tests.sh --integration
     

     You will be prompted for your OpenAI Admin API Key, Organization ID, and Test Project ID.

Notes on Docker and gVisor/runsc

• The provisioning scripts attempt to use runsc as the Docker runtime for containerized plugin testing.
• gVisor/runsc is not fully compatible with rootless Docker due to systemd and cgroup limitations. If runsc fails, the scripts automatically fall back to the default runc runtime for plugin build and Vault registration.
• The scripts set the correct Docker socket (/run/user/1000/docker.sock) using the DOCKER_HOST environment variable for all Vault and Docker operations.

Environment variables

• The system automatically sets VAULT_ADDR, VAULT_TOKEN, and DOCKER_HOST in the VM for the vagrant user.
• For integration tests, you must provide:
  • OPENAI_ADMIN_API_KEY
  • OPENAI_ORG_ID
  • OPENAI_TEST_PROJECT_ID

Troubleshooting

• If you see errors about Docker socket permissions or plugin registration, verify that DOCKER_HOST is set to the rootless Docker socket and that Vault runs with this environment variable.
• To reprovision from scratch:

  vagrant destroy -f
  vagrant up
  

File overview

• scripts/vagrant_provision_as_root.sh - Installs system dependencies including Go, Docker, and gVisor
• scripts/vagrant_provision_as_user.sh - Configures Docker rootless mode, builds the plugin, starts Vault, and registers the plugin
• scripts/run_tests.sh - Runs unit and integration tests for the plugin

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License

This project is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.